420. American Autonomy’s Mariah Scott on the US drone market, better data access for improved tech adoption + farmers defining the future of innovation

From tightening margins to shifts in the regulatory landscape, growers face a series of headwinds that challenge the success of their operations every year. One constant? Data on the farm. This week, American Autonomy CEO Mariah Scott joins us to talk data as a differentiator and unlocking access in a new American market for drones.  

Highlights include: 

• The work American Autonomy is leading to bring drone software to dealers and farmers that sets their businesses apart 
• AcreConnect as the company’s first software platform designed to assist during the spray season, the gaps in the market that led to its creation and how it enables farmer success 
• What’s happening with drones in the current market landscape and how Mariah sees the future changing 
• Regulatory shifts and their impact on technological adoption on farms right now 
• How American Autonomy defines success in this environment and how this evolution in the industry has created new opportunities 
• Leveraging farmer relationships to refine and improve technologies; and the farmer’s role in defining the future of innovation in this space 
• What innovations Mariah sees playing the biggest role in drone imagery and spraying in the future — from AI to automation, sensing technologies and regulatory advancements — and how might they reshape both farm operations and the broader agtech landscape 
• Momentum for the American Autonomy team over the last year and how that’s enabled them to grow and scale in new ways 
• Integrations as a critical driver for the American Autonomy team’s success and how partnerships have created high-quality tech adoption in the field 
• Mariah’s non-traditional ag background and how that’s positioned her to lead in the space thus far 
• How she sees talent evolving and reshaping the agbioscience industry over the next decade 
• What’s ahead for the American Autonomy team in 2026